6 people reveal what they wish they'd known before moving into a tiny house, from how much money they'd actually save to the downsides of building a luxurious home

While building her 120-square-foot cabin with her partner, Matt, Laura LaVoie of Life in 120 Square Feet learned that building a tiny house isn't about the house itself, she told Business Insider.

"It was about the experience," LaVoie said. "We wanted to prove we could do it. That we could build a home from the foundation up by ourselves. We went into the experience with our eyes wide open knowing that it would be a lot of hard work. If I had the opportunity to do it all over again now, I would buy a finished [tiny house]. Building was an adventure of a much younger couple."

The couple built their tiny house in North Carolina while living in Atlanta and working corporate jobs.

"We spent weekends and vacations working on our tiny house, which was a symbol for the things we wanted to outside of full-time jobs," she said.

Tim and Sam of Tiffany the Tiny Home bought their 270-square-foot tiny house, which they live in in Florida — but they wish they had transitioned to a minimalist lifestyle sooner.

"You don't have to live in a tiny house to change your life to better reflect your values," Tim told Business Insider. "For example, I love to give and receive experiences rather than items as gifts. Having fewer belongings to keep track of is a mental space saver no matter what space you are in. Buying consciously and looking for multi-use items has changed the way we spend our money."

He added: "Getting outside more is a huge benefit of living tiny, but anyone can do it. Overall, going tiny made us a lot happier, but we didn't have to wait to change our space to feel this way."

Ryan Mitchell of The Tiny Life spent $30,000 on his 150-square-foot tiny house, but didn't realize just how positive the effects of that decision that would be.

"I knew it would have a large impact on my life in a positive way, but I think I underestimated how much of a positive impact it would have," he told Business Insider. "It's hard to put into words how different this life is when your bills are so low; it's life-changing."

He's saved more than $100,000 since going tiny, he said.

Mitchell suggests that those considering a tiny house lifestyle think about serviceability.

"Think about how your water lines and utilities will be placed in a way that they meet code and are protected, but you can access them if you want," he said. "I am working on upgrading my shower and the water lines are difficult to access."

Bekah Taylor of Tiny Little Life said that tiny living has its complications. Parking restrictions, in particular, can be a problem, she told Business Insider.

Zoning laws for tiny houses can be strict, and some require you to own the land where your tiny house is built or parked. They can even dictate the size of the lot.

"I wish I had known that it would take a lot of work to find a place to park a tiny home," she said. "We live in Portland, Oregon, and the rules for tiny homes are pretty relaxed, but it was still a lot of work to find something that worked for us."

Bela and Spencer of thisxlife in Boulder Creek, California, bought their 300-square-foot tiny house in 2007.

"When we took the dive into buying a tiny house, we focused on minimizing the risk that we would hate it, so we wanted to make sure the house would hold value," they told Business Insider. "To that end, we pushed for the most expensive and thoroughly designed house that we could afford."

But they didn't consider the effects the weight of the house would have. "We overlooked the balance between luxury and mobility: The more luxurious the tiny house, the more it generally weighs, the harder it is to move," they said. "So far, this hasn't been a problem because we've never needed to move our house, but it has limited our ability to even think about changing positions."

Between landscaping and the new deck they built, the couple estimates it would probably cost them between $5,000 and $10,000 to move the tiny house, so it's typically better for them to just keep the house in its current spot.

"This hasn't been a big deal for us, but we wonder sometimes why the house is on wheels if we're not going to move it," they said.